After 26 years, the Pompano Beach Tri-Rail station is getting a makeover that will provide more shade for passengers while being more energy efficient.

But until the facelift is finished, passengers will be hard-pressed to find a parking space. The station's main parking lot closed on May 18 so a four-story, 450-space garage and three-story headquarters for Tri-Rail staff could be built on top of it.

That leaves only 39 spots available in a small lot on the west side of the tracks. About 800 passengers each weekday in April boarded trains at the station.

"I guess today's my lucky day," said Joan Eberle, an occasional rider who grabbed one of the last spots on a recent morning before boarding the train to West Palm Beach.

Officials are encouraging passengers to be picked up or dropped off at the station until construction is finished or to use the Cypress Creek station, where more parking is available. They say the hassle will be worth it when the new station and parking garage open next summer.

The new facility will still stand out among Tri-Rail's 18 stations - but for reasons other than the tiny canopies it's known for today.

It will generate more than 100 percent of its energy through solar power, with excess energy sent to the power grid or stored for nighttime lighting of the platforms and parking lots.

Officials say it will be the first transit station in Florida and one of the first in the nation to be completely supported by solar energy.

"The solidifies our future," said Jack Stephens, Tri-Rail's executive director. "It also updates this station which will improve our riders' experience."

When Tri-Rail opened in 1989, the stations were concrete slabs with a ticket machine and bus shelters. At the time, Tri-Rail was envisioned as a temporary rail service to ease congestion while Interstate 95 was widened from Miami to Boca Raton.

As Tri-Rail became a permanent fixture, the focus turned to upgrading the stations.

Most of the line's 18 stations were rebuilt or improved in the past decade as a second track was added to the line — except for the Pompano Beach station just south of Sample Road. To switch platforms, passengers must cross the tracks on a sidewalk at Northwest 33rd Street

The newer stations feature concrete towers housing elevators, stairways and pedestrian bridges, more benches and longer covered platforms on both sides of the tracks.